STRUCTURAL DIMENSIONS OF THE SOCIAL REPRESENTATION OF AGGRESSION

Abstract

The principal aim of this study was to analyze the structural dimensions of social representation of aggression through the Expressive Representations of Aggression Scale – EXPAGG (Campbell, Muncer, & Coyle, 1992). This scale is used in many studies of aggressive behavior among youth and in adolescent populations. Moreover, the EXPAGG is one of the self-report techniques most commonly used in the field of aggression research to measure expressive and instrumental attributions. This study uses various statistical procedures to analyze the data from a representative sample of adolescents in the community of Madrid to conclude that the EXPAGG is a reliable and valid test to measure different attribution styles of aggression in youth and adolescents. In addition, a tridimensional structure of social representation of aggression and a significant effect of age and gender were found.